PET Research at Waisman Center Brain Imaging Laboratory

Our research focuses on developing and translating novel PET methods to study neurodevelopment, neurodegeneration, and neuropsychiatric illness. This involves using PET methodologies to investigate neurochemical changes in the brain and studying novel radioligands to characterize neurotransmitter-protein interactions and how they are influenced by development, genes, environment, and drugs. These imaging methods are being applied to investigate the etiologies and mechanisms in diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome, affective disorders, schizophrenia, and Tourette syndrome.